More Jeans

I just had to keep sewing! 3 pairs of shorts ready for the summer!

Pirate Cove Scooby Doo got cut out of a t-shirt and put onto a pair of Sponge Bob shorts. (we don't watch Bob.)

2 more pair of pants had the holes cut off and the ends hemmed up! One pair had race car fabric added for interest, in that my son is very interested in racing cars!

Trying out these Linky Parties.

Jean Stars

I have seen a lot of hearts for girls, but didn't think my son would appreciate that as much as I would. So, stars it is! AND I'm getting much faster than the first time that took an hour. These stars only took 45 minutes!

Trying out these Linky Party things:

Five-Minute-Friday

Five Minute Friday topic from Gypsy Mama: The Women

I took a night off from reading bed time stories and snuggling up with stuffed puppies and whales to have a night out with a woman. We went out to grab a bite and headed back to her appartment to chow down.

We were supposed to watch a movie but got to talking, like women do. We were supposed to sit quietly and simply enjoy the commonality of watching the same flick, but we got to story telling, like women do.

This was the second night we had tried to watch a movie, nothing specific, but instead we got to discussions, like women do.

On the way home, I needed to stop for medicine for a weepy child. In the parking lot, I saw an old friend and we got to chatting, like women do.

My husband rang and tried to connect with me. He was not surprised to hear that I was still talking, like women do.

Thrifty Find

My thrifty find for this last month:

Look at the original price of these curtain holdbacks -

I am excited to say that I paid $2.99 at Goodwill. Oh yeah!

Patched Jeans

My son received some jeans from a friend who had out grown them. Apparently, my son is biased towards jeans and would not put them on with holes in the knees.

I cut up some old jeans that I had no intention of fixing, double layered the scraps, undid the jeans seams, sewed the patches to the inside, and sewed the side seams back up. Took me an hour. Note: Finally re-found the tute I was inspired from! I am Momma Hear Me Roar!

I think of it this way: an hour of paid work would be $8-20. A pair of jeans can cost $10-35. I saved both pair of jeans from ending up in the landfill and saved my wallet from getting a hole in it!

Linked up here:

Crib Skirt

It's FINALLY done!

I have had this fabric since October, but I've been so nervous to cut into it. I designed the fabric with pink airplanes because all the airplane fabrics out there are really for boys. And Amelia Earhart already broke through THAT frontier!

Then, when I finally get started, it is so easy and simple! WHY did I wait so long!? The crib this is for probably won't be used much longer anyway.

Here is a close up of the Spoonflower fabric that I designed for my cousins daughter. You can purchase the fabric through Spoonflower.

I even did pleats! Yeah! I followed the tutorial that Hibler House did on her blog. Thanks!
(I joined the Linky Party at Someday Crafts today.)

Five-Minute-Friday

I am joining Lisa-Jo at thegypsymama.com for her Five-Minute-Friday post, even though I'm doing it on Saturday.

Hit the alarm: Seven more minutes of sleep, of quiet, of warmth, of rest.

But the day is calling. As I lay for seven more minutes, I hear breakfast being made and the water running. I hope the water is running into the coffee pot! I hear my husband's squeaky computer chair as he sits to read his mail. I hear the spoon hit the bottom of the cereal bowl and my own stomach growls. I hear the slurping of milk as the last drop is being savored!

I can see through my closed eyelids that the sun is indeed up and the day has begun even though I am resisting with everything in me. The blanket pulled over my head does not seem to take away the light.

I feel the cold seep into my bones as I tuck my arm back into the covers. I feel tired and weighted down with what the day holds.

One foot out of the covers and it's time to get up...

Mark. 5 minutes.

Degrees of Beauty

I am always inspired by Lisa-Jo at thegypsymama.com.

I have always lived in the foothills of California. My degrees of beauty are always measured by the mountains against the horizon during a cloudy dusk; the moon shining orange through layers of haze; the fog so thick that you can look directly at the rising sun; the moon as a solitary shining full and bright above the light pollution of the city.

I still dream of seeing countless stars and realizing the fascination Galileo had with the skies. I used to sneer at him as I was able to count the 2 or 3 dozen stars that popped into the fading light of the city before bed time. My son and I often stand right outside the front door before bedtime and count the 2 or 3 stars that shine the brightest. He is so amazed at something so small and so bright in the sky. How amazed he will be to see the millions upon millions of stars that are really there, blocked by light pollution from our own house windows.

For years I could not understand the constellations that were studied; how shapes and figures could be determined from so few a bright star. But I have stood in the desert since then; I have seen the light pollution fade on the horizon and the night sky that seemed so dark light up like reflections in the water. I have seen what God put in the sky for us to marvel at and for Him to receive glory for. I sometimes wish for blackouts so we can see the sky!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some think the long stretches of land in Oklahoma, where you can see from horizon to horizon, is the most beautiful place to be. Some think mountains are gorgeous as they shine purple in the setting sun. Those are amazing, but my beauty is in the between land, where I get a glimpse of small mountains and a peek at the low, foggy valleys; the the sun rising over the hills and setting on the waters; the moon taking a pilgrimage across the sky before the sun is even gone from the day.

When I am not near mountains I have that opposite of claustrophobia feeling, the fear of open spaces, agoraphobia. Not exactly a fear! I appreciate the awesomeness and openness, but I crave my mountains and valleys. It is where my heart is, my home is; where mountains and valleys meet. This is beauty in it's fullest degree and this is home to me.

The 2 Become One

These are the two jeans that were supposed to become one. Alas, I made some calculation flaws and it could not be done the way I intended. The Wranglers are still intact while the apt.9 are deconstructed and constructed again!Instead, I took some extra light-weight upholstery fabric, did some fast math, easy cutting, and came up with something more stylish.

First, I cut the outside seams of the jeans with a seam ripper.Then I turned the pants inside out, and cut off the serged edge, (where I just ripped the seam). I also cut right through the waist band.
With right sides facing, I placed the patterned fabric and the edge of the jeans that I just cut together and stitched up the sides. I did the same thing with the other side of the patterned fabric, thus fixing the slit I just made in the jeans!I made sure to zig-zag stitch, since I don't have a serger. When I got to the top, I folded over the patterned fabric to match the length of the jeans. Easy Peasy. On second thought, I should have done this first and stitched across this before I put the whole long piece onto the jeans. I do hope that I don't have to do this again because it means that I don't fit into my 'skinny' jeans. But I am so 'jean' picky that these make a nice alternative for going to the store and trying clothes on!

Five Minute Friday

Gypsy Mama challenged her readers to write for five minutes, so here goes!

Pajama time.
Silly time.
Time to settle down.
Whispers of 'I love you'
'Tickle me, Mommy!'
'I need help.'
'I'm scared.'

I want my son to remember his childhood with fun. That one word, 'fun.'

No matter how much money we have, we have silly time; we have fun time.

Pajama bottoms on the head. Pajama tops put on as pants. Sometimes underwear end up on the head, too!

As long as it is all fun and there is smiling and giggling and laughing involved.

Settling down is always a challenge, and followed by 'I'm scared,' but we try to have fun so that our son will remember FUN!

Deconstruction

It screams 1980! Let's hear it for BUM Equipment. I pulled this deserted sweatshirt out of a pile of old material and clothes from my parents garage. The most vivid memory I have in this sweatshirt is of a rainy day. The hood leaked.

You can see the zipper in the hood. It makes a stylish sailors flap in the back to hang on your shoulders when unzipped.

It had to be undone! I searched the internet for ideas on what to do with old sweatshirts. The most popular idea: donate it. This is beyond the donation stage. it has a stain on the back, (that I missed for the pic,) and the front is full of yellowing.

The deconstruction of the 80's:

So, I think I have a cool spaceman helmet and some leg warmers. I might use the body of the shirt to make a protocol of a vest that I am designing. Not sure yet. It was extremely satisfying to cut through this material. I can't say why, other than it was a smooth cut, for the material and for the past to be left behind!

Advent in January? Sure!

We didn't do the advent calender this year. Well, we tried one of those 99c ones from Trader Joes, but the chocolate was cheap and the days were out of order. It was fun for a few days, but lost it's glory quickly!

After reading Gypsy Momma's blog, I once again am humbled by and thankful for such insight. She mentions starting an advent tradition that made her 5 year old so very curious. Hey, I have one of those, too!

This is silly, but I am going to do this advent calender now. Starting in the middle of January, I am going to read the story of Jesus' coming to my 5 year old. I am going to build up the hero of this story to his full glory! No matter that we will not end on Christmas day. We will end where our own story begins, the journey that is our own lives.

My son and me last Thanksgiving. (pic. 2009)

A New Year Once Again

Looking back at January 2010 and ahead to 2011:

Although I LOVE BAND, I can no longer go because of responsibilities at home. The sacrifice is for my son, so it's all okay. I will pick it up again, soon I hope!

Loving my husband has proven to be the opposite of what I thought. Sometimes you have to let something go to see it grow. I am trying to do that, but it is going to be a tough year and this is only January 4th.

I have been a good mom! I provide for my son. He is clean and well fed. I need to make some self-improvements this year to be a GREAT MOM! I want my son to have a fun childhood; to look for the right things in a woman someday; to know the value of knowledge and hard work; and above all: to KNOW CHRIST!

THIS LAST YEAR has seen Rob out of work for 2.5 years now. I got laid off in August with no prospective jobs right now. Nick started school and has had a difficult time adjusting. Our finances are beyond repair.

God is in control. Amen.

THIS FACE is why I keep going! Welcome, 2011!